Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1879.djvu/15

Rh be authorized to prescribe suitable police regulations for the government, of the various Indian reservations, and to provide for the enforcement thereof; 2. That the laws of the respective States and Territories in which Indian reservations are located, relative to certain crimes, shall be deemed and taken to be the law and in force within such reservations, and the district courts of the United States within and for the respective districts, and the Territorial courts of the respective Territories, in which such reservations may be located, shall have original jurisdiction over all such offenses committed within such reservations; 3. That in respect to all that portion of the Indian Territory not occupied by any of the five civilized tribes, the laws of the State of Arkansas relative to certain crimes shall be deemed and taken to be the law and in force therein, and the United States district court for the western district of Arkansas shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all such offenses arising in said portion of the Indian Territory; and, 4. That the place of punishment of any and all of such offenses shall be the same as for other like offenses arising within the jurisdiction of said respective courts. This bill was favorably reported upon by the Judiciary Committees of both Houses of Congress, but no action was taken thereon. In view of the importance of this subject, I earnestly recommend that it be urged upon the attention of Congress at the present session.

The organization of a police force consisting entirely of Indians, begun on a large scale two years ago, has been extended to almost all the agencies, and it has proved very salutary and effective in the maintenance of order and the protection of property. The police has throughout shown great fidelity to duty and zeal in executing the directions given by the officers of the government. It is essential that for this force young men be selected of intelligence, good habits, and respectable standing in their respective tribes, and this rule has been invariably observed. Considerable difficulty in making such selections is found in the circumstance that the pay of $5 per month provided by Congress for these policemen is entirely inadequate, for the reason that the class of men needed by the government for this service would, if not so employed, earn a much greater amount by work done for their own benefit. I earnestly concur, therefore, in the recommendation made by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, that the pay of the policemen be sufficiently increased to enable them to devote their services to the government without loss to themselves. Only thus can we hope to keep the proper class of men in this branch of the service.

Whenever an Indian outbreak occurs the question is asked where the Indians obtain their arms and ammunition. For many years no arms have been furnished to Indians by the government, except to those who were